It wasn’t the smoothest road to get there, but the Winter Olympics will end the way everyone hoped for.

Canada. The United States. For the gold. And the Vegas Golden Knights will be front and center.

The five remaining Knights players in the men’s hockey tournament will play for their first gold medal Sunday after Canada and Team USA won their respective semifinal matchups Friday in Milan.

Hockey’s top international powerhouses will meet for the gold medal for the third time ever. Canada is 2-0.

Canada almost didn’t get there. Down captain Sidney Crosby (lower body), the Canadians rallied from two goals down to defeat Finland 3-2 thanks to Nathan MacKinnon’s game-winning power-play goal with 35.2 seconds left.

Finland took a 2-0 lead in the second period after former Knights center Erik Haula scored a shorthanded breakaway goal 3:26 into the middle frame.

Canada’s talent took over and broke through Finland’s press in the neutral zone. Sam Reinhart scored on the power play at 14:20 to make it 2-1.

Then, with 9:26 remaining, Knights defenseman Shea Theodore fired a blast from the point while Finland was scrambling near its crease and tied it.

SHEA THEODORE TIES IT WITH A LASER. CANADA FIGHTS BACK TO 2-2.

📺 Peacock & USA | #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/USjwF1v6Ix

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 20, 2026

“It was exciting to see it go in and tie it up for us,” Theodore said. “They’re a great team. We simplified our game a little bit, stuck to our plan, got more bodies in front and pucks to the net. (Juuse Saros) a great goalie, but it’s hard to see when there are bodies in front.”

Mitch Marner and Mark Stone were both held without a point. Nick Suzuki centered the line in place of Crosby.

Canada coach Jon Cooper said Crosby has “got a better chance of playing in the gold medal game than he had playing in (Friday’s) game.”

USA rolls by Slovakia

Canada’s win was the tournament’s sixth straight game — men or women — that had been decided by one goal.

Team USA ended that run emphatically with a 6-2 win over Slovakia.

Knights center Jack Eichel scored his second goal of the tournament. His goal made it 4-0 at 12:33 and came 19 seconds after Jack Hughes scored.

Team USA RUNNING away with it! pic.twitter.com/hDs3RkkVc2

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 20, 2026

Eichel added an assist on a power-play goal from Tage Thompson with 41 seconds left in the first period.

Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin added an assist for his third point of the tournament.

It’s the first time since 2010 that Team USA is playing for gold. That game also was against Canada, and it took place in Vancouver.

A then-22-year-old Crosby scored one of the most iconic goals in history, in overtime, defeating the U.S. 3-2.

Friday marked one year to the day that Canada defeated Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Sunday marks the rivalry’s next chapter.

And it might be the biggest one yet.

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.

Up next

Who: Canada vs. USA

When: 5:10 a.m. Sunday

Where: Santagiulia Arena, Milan

TV: NBC, Peacock